Horror Non-Fiction Nominees: 2022 Bram Stoker Awards

Find out more about the nominations for Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction for horror books.

The Horror Writer’s Association (HWA) has announced the nominees for the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards. Below, find out the nominees in the Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction category—with info about the nominated books from Michael Cisco, Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes, Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson, Tim Waggoner, and Stephanie M. Wytovich. You can also check out the the whole list of nominations below!

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Author interviews coming soon!
Great Horror Stories: 2022 Bram Stoker Awards Nominees

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Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction

Weird Fiction: A Genre Study by Michael Cisco (Palgrave Macmillan)

Weird Fiction: A Genre Study presents a comprehensive, contemporary analysis of the genre of weird fiction by identifying the concepts that influence and produce it.

Focusing on the sources of narrative content—how the content is produced and what makes something weird—Michael Cisco engages with theories from Deleuze and Guattari to explain how genres work and to understand the relationship between identity and the ordinary. Cisco also uses these theories to examine the supernatural not merely as a horde of tropes, but as a recognition of the infinity of experience in defiance of limiting norms.

The book also traces the sociopolitical implications of weird fiction, studying the differentiation of major and minor literatures. Through an articulated theoretical model and close textual analysis, readers will learn not only what weird fiction is, but how and why it is produced.

Find Weird Fiction: A Genre Study at Amazon

A Haunted History of Invisible Women: True Stories of America’s Ghosts by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea Janes (Citadel Press)

From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester’s mysterious mansion this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America’s female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us—and why they haunt us...

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess—America’s female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known—though no less powerful...

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America’s most famous female ghosts, from ‘Mrs. Spencer’ who haunted Joan Rivers’ New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era’s fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire —achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation.

Find A Haunted History of Invisible Women at Amazon

Toil and Trouble: A Women’s History of the Occult by Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson (Quirk Books)

A celebration of magical women and nonbinary people in American history, from Salem to WitchTok.

Meet the mystical women and nonbinary people from U.S. history who found strength through the supernatural—and those who are still forging the way today. From the celebrity spirit mediums of the nineteenth century to contemporary activist witches hexing the patriarchy, these icons have long used magic and mysticism to seize the power they’re so often denied.

Organized around different approaches women in particular have taken to the occult over the decades—using the supernatural for political gain, seeking fame and fortune as spiritual practitioners, embracing their witchy identities, and more—this book shines a light on underappreciated magical pioneers, including:

Dion Fortune, who tried to marshal a magical army against Adolf Hitler
Bri Luna, the Hoodwitch, social media star and serious magical practitioner
Joan Quigley, personal psychic to Nancy Reagan
Marie Laveau, voodoo queen of New Orleans
Elvira, queer goth sex symbol who defied the Satanic Panic
And many more!

Find Toil and Trouble at Amazon

Writing in the Dark: The Workbook by Tim Waggoner (Guide Dog Books)

Writing in the Dark: The Workbook will resonate with young authors who are just getting started on their careers as well as veterans of the horror genre and craft.

Like Tim Waggoner’s Bram Stoker Award-winning Writing in the Dark, a manual for how to write horror fiction, this workbook covers a wide variety of topics, ranging from monster, idea, and plotline creation to avoiding clichés and developing the art of suspense. The workbook, however, foregrounds practice over discussion to help writers master these concepts. Both texts stand on their own while working together to provide you with the direction and tools you need to maximize your own authorship.

The wealth of examples, exercises, and tutorials in Writing in the Dark: The Workbook are designed to inspire and stretch the imagination. Waggoner draws from his own experiences in addition to other professional writers, among them Laird Barron, Maurice Broaddus, Nadia Bulkin, Ramsey Campbell, Mort Castle, Tananarive Due, Christopher Golden, Grady Hendrix, Daniel Kraus, Joe R. Lansdale, Elizabeth Massie, Graham Masterton, Seanan McGuire, John Shirley, and many others.

Featuring an introduction by Michael A. Arnzen.

Find Writing in the Dark: The Workbook at Amazon

Writing Poetry in the Dark by Stephanie M. Wytovich (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Writing Poetry in the Dark brings together some of the most successful contemporary genre poets to discuss topics related to creating dark and fantastical poetry.

While there are countless books available for the aspiring poet, there is a lack of resources specifically for and on speculative poetry, and with the market thriving, publishers who previously did not put out poetry are now adding it to their catalogs, requesting it for their anthologies, and seeking it for their magazines. Given these factors, it seemed like the perfect time to put together a guide for dark poets that addresses some of the unique challenges they face, such as creating monsters out of white space, writing the hybrid poem, or subverting folklore in the retelling of a classic tale.

Included in Writing Poetry in the Dark are recommendations on how to bring fear to the page, write from the wound, let violence loose, channel the weird, and tackle the dark side of daily life. There are also practical suggestions for exploring different poetic forms and topics ranging from building worlds, writing from different points of view, and exploring gender and sexuality on the page.

This book will bring something different to every speculative writer who is interested in exploring poetry with a genre twist, and it is our hope that this book will help poetry itself continue to evolve, grow, and redefine itself in the market for many years to come.

Find Writing Poetry in the Dark at Amazon

The rest of the 2022 Bram Stoker Awards nominations

The HWA organization presents the Bram Stoker Awards for Superior Achievement, named in honor of Bram Stoker, author of the seminal horror work, Dracula. Winners will be announced June 17 during the Annual Bram Stoker Awards at StokerCon™ 2023 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Bookings and information at: http://stokercon.com.

Superior Achievement in a Novel

The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (Mullholland Press)

The Fervor by Alma Katsu (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Reluctant Immortals by Gwendolyn Kiste (Saga Press)

Daphne by Josh Malerman (Del Rey)

Sundial by Catriona Ward (Tor Nightfire)

Info about each book HERE: Superior Horror Novel Nominees: 2022 Bram Stoker Awards

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Jackal by Erin Adams (Bantam Books)

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas (Berkley)

Black Tide by KC Jones (Tor Nightfire)

Beulah by Christi Nogle (Cemetery Gates Media)

All the White Spaces by Ally Wilkes (Emily Bestler Books/Atria/Titan Books)

Info about each book HERE: First Novel Nominees: 2022 Bram Stoker Awards

Superior Achievement in a Middle Grade Novel

Camp Scare
Delilah S. Dawson
(Delacorte Press)

They Stole Our Hearts
Daniel Kraus
(Henry Holt and Co.)

This Appearing House
Ally Malinenko
(Katherine Tegen Books)

The Clackity
Lora Senf
(Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

A Comb of Wishes
Lisa Stringfellow
(Quill Tree Books)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel

Kolchak: The Night Stalker: 50th Anniversary
James Aquilone, editor
(Moonstone Books)

Eat the Rich
Sarah Gailey (author) and Pius Bak (artist)
(Boom! Studios)

Kraken Inferno: The Last Hunt
Alessandro Manzetti (author) and Stefano Cardoselli (artist/author)
(Independent Legions Publishing)

Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 4
James Tynion IV (author) and Werther Dell’Edera (artist)
(Boom! Studios)

The Me You Love in the Dark
Skottie Young (author) and Jorge Corona (artist)
(Image Comics)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

What We Harvest
Ann Fraistat
(Delacorte Press)

The Weight of Blood
Tiffany D. Jackson
(Katherine Tegen Books)

These Fleeting Shadows
Kate Alice Marshall
(Viking)

The Triangle
Robert P. Ottone
(Raven Tale Publishing)

Gallant
V.E. Schwab
(Greenwillow Books)

Burn Down, Rise Up
Vincent Tirado
(Sourcebooks Fire)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

And in Her Smile, the World
Rebecca J. Allred and Gordon B. White
(Trepidatio Publishing)

“Through the Looking Glass and Straight into Hell”
Orphans of Bliss: Tales of Addiction Horror
Christa Carmen
(Wicked Run Press)

Below
Laurel Hightower
(Ghoulish Books)

The Wehrwolf: A Short Story
Alma Katsu
(Amazon Original Stories)

Three Days in the Pink Tower
EV Knight
(Creature Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

“Nona Doesn’t Dance”
Cut to Care: A Collection of Little Hurts
Aaron Dries
(IFWG Australia, IFWG International)

“Poppy’s Poppy”
Douglas Gwilym
(Penumbric Speculative Fiction Magazine, Vol. V, No. 6)

“The Only Thing Different Will Be the Body”
A Woman Built by Man
J.A.W. McCarthy
(Cemetery Gates Media)

“A Song for Barnaby Jones”
Anna Taborska
(Zagava)

“The Star”
Great British Horror 7: Major Arcane
Anna Taborska
(Black Shuck Books)

“Fracture”
Mother: Tales of Love and Terror
Mercedes M. Yardley
(Weird Little Worlds)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

We Are Here to Hurt Each Other
Paula D. Ashe
(Nictitating Books)

Hell Hath No Sorrow Like a Woman Haunted
RJ Joseph
(The Seventh Terrace)

Breakable Things
Cassandra Khaw
(Undertow Publications)

Spontaneous Human Combustion
Richard Thomas
(Keylight Books)

The Black Maybe
Attila Veres
(Valancourt Books)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay

The Pale Blue Eye
Scott Cooper
(Cross Creek Pictures, Grisbi Productions, Streamline Global Group)

The Black Phone
Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill
(Blumhouse Productions, Crooked Highway, Universal Pictures)

Stranger Things: Episode 04.01 “Chapter One: The Hellfire Club”
The Duffer Brothers
(21 Laps Entertainment, Monkey Massacre, Netflix, Upside Down Pictures)

Men
Alex Garland
(DNA Films)

Pearl
Mia Goth and Ti West
(A24, Bron Creative, Little Lamb, New Zealand Film Commission)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Sifting the Ashes
Michael Bailey and Marge Simon
(Crystal Lake Publishing)

Girls from the County
Donna Lynch
(Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Crime Scene
Cynthia Pelayo
(Raw Dog Screaming Press)

The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry
Sumiko Saulson
(Dooky Zines)

The Gravity of Existence
Christina Sng
(Interstellar Flight Press)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Screams from the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous
Ellen Datlow
(Tor Nightfire)

Human Monsters: A Horror Anthology
Sadie Hartmann and Ashley Saywers
(Dark Matter Ink)

Mother: Tales of Love and Terror
Christi Nogle and Willow Becker
(Weird Little Worlds)

Into the Forest: Tales of the Baba Yaga
Lindy Ryan
(Black Spot Books)

Chromophobia: A Strangehouse Anthology by Women in Horror
Sara Tantlinger
(Strangehouse Books)

Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction

“I Don’t Read Horror (& Other Weird Tales)” by Lee Murray
(Interstellar Flight Magazine) (Interstellar Flight Press)

“This is Not a Poem” by Cynthia Pelayo
(Writing Poetry in the Dark) (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

“A Clown in the Living Room: The Sinister Clown on Television” by Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.
(The Many Lives of Scary Clowns: Essays on Pennywise, Twisty, the Joker, Krusty and More) (McFarland and Company)

“African American Horror Authors and Their Craft: The Evolution of Horror Fiction from African Folklore” by L. Marie Wood
(Conjuring Worlds: An Afrofuturist Textbook for Middle and High School Students) (Conjure World)

“The H Word: The Horror of Hair” by L. Marie Wood
(Nightmare Magazine, No. 118) (Adamant Press)